Zeekr, an electric vehicle (EV) brand under the Chinese automaker Zhejiang Geely Holding Group, plans to enter the Japanese market next year. Known as a luxury EV with excellent acceleration, the brand is considering introducing three models. China’s largest EV manufacturer, BYD, also began selling passenger cars in Japan last year, and Chinese EVs are becoming more prominent.

The company plans to open showrooms in the Tokyo metropolitan area, Kansai and Tokai regions by the end of the year. Zika’s vice president, Chen Yu, said in an interview that he has high hopes for the company’s performance in the Japanese market.

The three models that the company aims to release are the sports utility vehicle (SUV) “X”, the multi-purpose vehicle (MPV) “009”, and the family-type SUV “7X”. Prices in Japan have yet to be decided, but in China the minimum price is 179,000 yuan (approximately 3.6 million yen) for the X, 439,000 yuan for the 009, and 239,900 yuan for the 7X.

Z-Car was founded in 2021, and its sales volume from January to August this year increased 81% from the same period last year to 121,540 units. (Kyodo News)